Pope establishes new Secretariat for Communication

Pope Francis has issued an apostolic letter in the form of a Motu Proprio in which he has instituted the Secretariat for Communication. The full text of the letter follows:

"The current communications context, characterised by the presence and development of digital media, and by factors of convergence and interactivity, requires a re-evaluation of the information system of the Holy See and commitment to reorganisation that, taking into consideration what has developed historically within the communication structures of the Apostolic See, proceeds decisively towards integration and unified management.

For these reasons, I consider that all those bodies that have until now been occupied in different ways with communication be brought together in a new dicastery of the Roman Curia, which will be entitled Secretariat for Communication. In this way the communication system of the Holy See will be able to respond better to the needs of the Church's mission.

Therefore, after having examined reports and studies, received the feasibility study and heard the unanimous opinion of the Council of Cardinals, I hereby institute the Secretariat for Communication and establish the following.

Art. 1
The following bodies will merge into the dicastery, as presented by the Commission for Vatican Media instituted on 30 April 2015, at the established times: Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Holy See Press Office, Vatican Internet Service; Vatican Radio; Vatican Television Centre; L'Osservatore Romano; Vatican Typography; Photographic Service; Vatican Publishing House.

Art. 2
These bodies, from the date of publication of the present Motu Proprio, will continue to carry out their activities, in accordance, however, with indications given by the Secretariat for Communication.

Art. 3
The new dicastery, in agreement with the Secretariat of State, will take on the institutional web site of the Holy See: www.vatican.va and the Twitter service of the Supreme Pontiff: @pontifex

Art. 4
The Secretariat for Communication will begin its functions on 29 June 2015, and will be based provisionally in Palazzo Pio, Piazza Pia 3, 00120 Vatican City.

I order that all that I have set forth in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio is to be fully observed, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, albeit deserving of special mention, and I hereby decree that it be promulgated by publication in the daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, and subsequently in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on 27 June of the year 2015, third of my Pontificate".

The Holy Father, following the Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio, "The current communications context" of 27 June 2015, by which he instituted the Secretariat for Communication, appointed:

- Mgr Dario Edoardo Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre, as prefect of the Secretariat for Communication;
- Mgr Lucio Adrian Ruiz, head of the Vatican Internet Service, as secretary;
- Paolo Nusiner, director general of Avvenire, Nuova Editoriale Italiana, as director general; and
- Giacomo Ghisani, head of the Office for International Relations and Legal Affairs of Vatican Radio and member of the managing board of the Vatican Television Centre, as deputy director general.